Cosmic Musings and ColdFusion

A Conservative Alternative to ObamaCare. Really?

Ponuru and Levin bemoan the lack of an Republican Conservative alternative to the Affordable Care Act. "To avoid a lurch to the left if the current law fails, the time is right to present sensible, market-oriented reforms."

On Morning Joe, where JS never fails to miss the point, Scarborough remains depressingly consistent by insisting just how much better Repubs would do in '14 if they just presented a plausible alternative to ObamaCare.

Let's consider the Ryan plan, the GOP's flagship alternative. It would roll back all of the ACA's benefits and would allow insurance companies to incorporate in states with the lowest regulatory standards. Though it claims to allow persons with pre-existing conditions to enroll and dis-allow recision (gee, maybe the ACA is not so bad afterall), it says nothing about the process or financing that would support such features. In short, the Republican plan would leave the country worse off even without the implementation of ObamaCare. Like most of Paul Ryan's policy excresenses, it has crawled back into the Heritage Foundation's archives and out of the political spotlight.

But that's not the point. There will never be a credible Republican alternative for universal health care.

It's very clear that the GOP doesn't believe that the government has a role in seeing after the health of ordinary Americans. It doesn't believe that the welfare of the elderly, the very young, the poverty-stricken, the working stiff should be a national concern.

The Republicans do not believe in Medicare, in Social Security in Food Stamps. If you ain't got the bucks, if you must deal with adversity, tough luck, too bad.